A hybrid approach to Internet connectivity for mobile ad hoc networks

Mobile ad hoc networks are autonomous, infrastructureless networks that support multihop communication through IP routing. This paper examines the use of mobile IP in order to provide global Internet connectivity to ad hoc networks that use an on-demand routing protocol. We present a hybrid scheme that uses techniques such as TTL scoping of agent advertisements, eavesdropping and caching agent and advertisements to combine the advantages of proactive and reactive approaches to providing connectivity. We present simulation results to show that our approach achieves excellent connectivity while keeping overhead costs low.